


Mutually Assured Destruction

by Katzenjammers



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Forbidden Love, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-03-17 04:19:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18957739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katzenjammers/pseuds/Katzenjammers
Summary: Long before Sylvanas was born her kind had been at war with humans- a brutal, warlike race that fled their own dying planet and now seem hellbent on destroying hers too. Disaster strikes within her family leading Sylvanas to conclude that her lot in life is to eradicate such beings from elven lands and, if she’s lucky, from Azeroth entirely. However, deep within the vast forests of Quel’Thalas an ambush on a human scouting party goes horribly wrong when something unexpected occurs, an event that kills her entire squadron and disgraces her name when she limps back to camp the sole survivor and nobody to believe her story.Determined to prove she’s not crazy, Sylvanas sets out on a journey with a sole purpose in mind: to find the only other being that had witnessed the event and escaped with their life. A person who’d only this morning been a priority target marked for death by her own decree. Still, if what Sylvanas saw was true, co-operating with the enemy will be the least of her worries.AKA The future-fantasy forbidden love AU that nobody asked for.





	1. The 1000 year war

**Author's Note:**

> Super excited about this! I've pretty much got all 8 chapters already written out on my computer I just have to finalize some things and flesh it out but I thought with everything written out first I could give you a regularly updated short story of some sorts. Not too many chapters but these chapters will be long. 
> 
> I've not written much future fantasy stuff before but the general vibe here is a mix of old and new mostly the clash between a race that relies on machinery and technology vs a race that relies on magic all struggling to survive on what the humans dub the "new world."

_“Millennia ago humans sought refuge amongst the stars- driven from their dying planet, they called out into the cosmos and found their cries answered. A planet, not unlike the one these beings had fled from but healthy, with a breathable atmosphere, populated by a species who bore an uncanny resemblance to their own- a miracle beyond miracles, salvation from certain extinction. These merciful beings called out to them and welcomed these humans with open arms and introduced themselves as the Quel'dorei.”_

“Is this what I think it is? Am I finally old enough to hear the story of the 1000 year war?” A young elf squeaked and was promptly shushed by two of her older sisters.

 

_“Yes my dear one, it is time. Our people were a kind and welcoming species, we guided the humans across the stars and when they arrived we provided them shelter, taught them our language, how to farm the new land, the best places to hunt and we helped them establish the first human settlement of Strom or better know today as Stormwind.”_

“ _We_ helped build _Stormwind?”_

 

“Vereesa stop asking questions or this is going to take forever!” Her older sister snapped- ears pinned back. She’d already heard this tale countless times and wanted it over.

 

“Calm yourself, Sylvanas, this is ‘Reesa’s first telling and she needs to hear it properly.” The oldest sister, Alleria quietly chided and the middle elf folded her arms and stared at the floor.

 

_“Yes, we did indeed help them found what is now known as the human capital of Stormwind. However, while we were a gracious and empathetic race, we were also naïve. The humans, grateful for their saviors, worked alongside us. They shared their knowledge, their technology and for a while it seemed both races would join together to make Azeroth a shining beacon amongst the empty void of space. Pleased with the futuristic machinery the humans brought with them, our then leader Dath’Remar Sunstrider decided to bestow a gift far more powerful and generous than they deserved. Magic.”_

Vereesa made a surprised noise and leaned forward. Sylvanas glared at her, as if daring her to ask yet another foolish question.

 

_“The humans did not come from a world where arcane existed- their inability to wield it meant they resorted to creating great machines instead. Using just the tools in their hands they achieved prodigious things, but their race was greedy, warlike and many times these machines were turned on each other while around them their planet was dying. Dath’Remar believed that granting them such a gift would help the humans let go of their savage, warmongering ways and allow the same luxuries of life without needing to harm the very lands we now shared- and so it was that he took a few carefully selected students and showed them the wonders of the Sunwell.”_

“So humans were always savage, is that why they are all so broad and tall- from all the fighting they do?”

 

“No Vereesa that’s dumb, they just look like that.”

 

“That’s not how it works ‘Reesa but I’ll agree, they do look savage- nasty and hairy and…” Vereesa squealed with laughter as Alleria grunted in a gruff voice and attacked her sides with an onslaught of tickles.

 

“Alleria remember what they told us in training camp we must have-“

 

“- _Respect for our enemies lest we make the mistake of underestimating them-_ I know, _I know_ , I’m just messing with ‘Reesa here. You really need to lighten up and take yourself less seriously.”

 

“Lets get on with this story so Vereesa can hear it and we can all leave.” Alleria rolled her eyes at her petulant younger sister but gestured for the Elder to continue.

 

_“These few humans drank in the energies of the sacred place and while most were humbled by its magic, reverently accepting their gifts, one gazed upon it and saw only tantalizing power- power that he foolishly believed was his to take. Dath’Remar sensed this man’s desire but his gentle heart mistook it as eagerness to learn and soon appointed the human as his own personal apprentice. He bestowed unto him a new name: Medivh, which, translated in Old Thalassian, comes out as ‘Keeper of the Secrets’- an apt title for the first human to be allowed such trust from our people._

_The man learned quickly- his expertise with the arcane grew but so did his lust for power and he began to take advantage of his master’s gentle and kind soul, demanding more than his mentor could give. Dath’Remar, seeing only the best in his young student did his utmost to appease the desires within his heart. But it was never enough._

_For reasons unknown, Medivh left the city of Quel’Thalas and by extension his studies for many years to oversee his people and help them rebuild on their new planet. The magic of the Sunwell gave him the long lifespan of our ancestors and generations of humans worshipped him as a god, a king of all kings. Sadly that adoration only further tainted his greedy soul until it was bloated and festering._

_When Medivh returned, the joy Dath’Remar had at seeing his old apprentice was short lived when the human mage betrayed him. Begging to see the Sunwell again, Dath’Remar indulged Medivh only for his long time friend to stab him in the back, casting his lifeless body into the Sunwell and taking the powers for his own. The powers grew too much even for someone as avaricious as Medivh and he was unable to contain them- a beam of energy exploded from his body, instantly obliterating himself and with that blast the Sunwell became irreversibly corrupted._

_Light faded across the sacred lands of Quel’Thalas. Every elf cried out in pain, the very essence of their being ripped apart. Our health, our long lives, our deep connection with the arcane- all gone in an instant thanks to one human’s greed._

_Desperate for vengeance, our people marched against the humans living in the surrounding lands, demanding justice for what he had done. However, blinded by their loyalties to Medivh, the humans fought back, killing many of our scouts and emissaries, severing all hope of any lasting peace between nations. Chaos broke out in the northern reaches of Lordaeron and a new leader, Anasterian Sunstrider, stepped up to the challenge, driving the humans out from our lands once and for all. He declared war- a just war- for the only way the humans can pay for what they’ve done to us, is with their blood.”_

“And thus we’ve waged a thousand year war on an entire race due to the deeds of one person.” Sylvanas did her best to match the haughty tone of the teller earning a disapproving scowl from the ancient elf. She nearly didn’t dodge the fist flying at her face from the left.

 

“Sylvanas! You know that’s a horrifying summary of what really went down- the humans did unspeakable things to us, they ruined everything we stood for, burned our villages, murdered innocents!” Alleria’s voice was thin with rage causing the middle sister to bristle in defense, ears pinned back and teeth bared.

 

“Stop it!” Vereesa cried out, fighting back tears, “you two always fight and ruin everything!”

 

Alleria sighed and sat back on her haunches. “Sorry ‘Reesa, Lady Moon here sometimes seems to forget what makes our history important and some of the things she says are idealistic and naïve.”

 

“I’m sorry as well Little Moon,” Sylvanas sighed though her posture remained tense. “I forget Alleria’s a _ranger_ now and had her head filled with pompous war stories and propaganda.”

 

“It’s not propaganda!” The eldest spat, words dripping like venom as she flexed her bow calloused fingers, almost as though she was notching an arrow in her mind. “When you join the academy in the next few years you’ll understand.”

 

“What if I don’t want to,” Sylvanas challenged, one long eyebrow lifted in amusement at the angry flush that bled over Alleria’s cheeks. She loved it when her usually regal and aloof sister actually indulged her emotions for once, even if they were directed in anger towards her. It was part of the reason Sylvanas acted so; any attention, even if it was negative, was better than none.

 

“You don’t have a choice in that matter Sylvanas and you know it, so I’m not even going to entertain such folly.” Alleria sniffed haughtily and jumped to her feet, folding her arms behind her in a militant fashion and bowing deeply to the elder who seemed both unimpressed and tired over the exchange. “Thank you Elder Flamelight, as usual your telling was flawless and will provide much insight for our dear little sister and-” she paused and narrowed her silvery eyes at Sylvanas, “-perhaps a gentle reminder lest we forget the atrocities done unto us.”

 

Sylvanas scoffed. “Do you even hear yourself? You sound just like mother.”

 

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”

 

“Yes, being a cold and disdainful General who cares more about her squadron than her own family tends to paint a negative description in my books.” Alleria gasped and opened her mouth to openly shout but another voice beat her to it.

 

“Sylvanas Windrunner! I will not have you speak of our Ranger General that way. You must respect her as both your ranking superior and your mother.” The usually deep and calming tones of the Elder cracked like a whip causing even Alleria to flinch and the fire in Sylvanas’s eyes to flicker out. A small wail sounded out in the room next door and Vereesa let out a deep sigh.

 

“Now you’ve made Lirath cry! I’ll get him,” she stomped out the room dramatically, leaving Alleria and Sylvanas to it. At least now both had the tact to look contrite, Sylvanas more so than the eldest sister.

 

“I am sorry Elder Flamelight, I overstepped.”

 

“That you did, but all will be forgiven and your harsh words kept from your mother when we next meet if you would be as so inclined to escort an old woman to her home?” The ancient elf let out a long and weary groan as she lifted her frail body from the chair, the soft silken fabric of the blanket that had been draped over her knees slid to the floor and pooled elegantly around her feet. While withered and far removed from her prime, the elder was still graceful in her slowness and the glow within her eyes spoke of power that awed the young elf even in the midst of her brash youth.

 

Sylvanas leapt to her feat, almost too eagerly, and bowed deeply. “It would be an honor.”

 

Alleria rolled her eyes at just how eager her younger sister was in covering her tracks to avoid the wrath of their parents. She was unruly now, but once basic training was over and she became a fully-fledged member of the academy this rebellious phase of hers would soon die out. Then, once she’d seen first hand what a human could do, she wouldn’t be so quick to defend them.

 

* * *

 

 

 It turned out her wish was granted far too early- just a few years later- when the two of them had been at the training range. The eldest sister was watching Sylvanas shoot, gritting her teeth at the bored sighs and sarcastic barbs that were shot her way every time she corrected her stance or offered advice for induction at the academy next week. It was a common problem amongst elven siblings, they were often born too many years apart and it was the case with Alleria who saw her sister as an immature and rebellious annoyance while Sylvanas saw the elder Windrunner as someone who barked too many orders and refused to show the emotional recognition a young Sylvanas had so desperately craved as a child. It lead to them having a strained relationship from the start but _Belore_ Alleria was trying and Sylvanas wasn’t making it easy.

 

Eventually she lost her patience. “Sylvanas, if you keep up this attitude the academy is going to give you hell…”

 

“Ranger Captain!” One of Alleria’s squad rushed into the arena so abruptly that she would have scolded him had it not been for the wild panic on his face. “There’s been an accident, your brother…”

 

The wail of anguish that carried across the dirt arena was unmistakably their mother’s causing the two sisters to drop their bows and quivers in an unceremonious clatter, argument forgotten, and rushing off in the direction of the sound.

 

Lireesa Windrunner knelt on the ground, cradling the tiny body of her youngest son. He looked to be sleeping were it not for the bruise on his left temple and the paleness of his usually sun kissed cheeks. The soft blonde wisps at his hairline were stained with blood and both Alleria and Sylvanas dropped to their knees beside the grieving form of their mother, ears pinned back in alarm and mouths open in silent screams of disbelief and anguish.

 

“What happened,” Alleria gasped out, fingernails digging into her palm in the blind hope that this was all a cruel nightmare and the pain would wake her up. Sylvanas seemed to be doing the same though it manifested itself in her hand grasping at the roots of her hair and yanking violently.

 

“We found him at the riverbank near Goldenmist village, your Father must have dropped him when he… there were bullet wounds on his body.”

 

“No, no no no no, this isn’t happening” Alleria mumbled to herself as her world narrowed to the lifeless body of her brother in her mother’s arms.

 

“Bullet wounds?” Lireesa Windrunner’s squadron seemed to have arrived on scene, bows humming in their hand and their voices clipped and distorted under the visors of their helmets.

 

“Are you sure? Humans have never dared come this far north.”

 

“Well who else would use such a cowardly weapon!”

 

Sylvanas and Alleria shared a look of horror.

 

“Where’s father?” Sylvanas’s voice was surprisingly calm but Alleria could still hear the tremble beneath it.

 

“He was barely breathing when we took him to the healing sanctum, we did everything we could but his wounds were too many and too great, I’m sorry.”

 

The two sisters closed their eyes in tandem as they absorbed the information.

 

“Fucking monsters” Alleria eventually snapped and Sylvanas found herself nodding with her. “What of our patrols? Did they have any knowledge of such activity in the area?”

 

“No it seems as though this was some kind of stealth tech, something the humans have developed that we have not seen before- we only arrived on scene once the gunfire was over and the enemy gone.”

 

“And you are certain the sounds were that of a gun?”

 

“Yes, a rifle, definitely of human origin.”

 

Alleria let out a roar of frustration and pain, her fingers digging into the dirt as she shuffled over to crouch nearer to her mother. Sylvanas followed suit until the three of them sat around the still form of their brother, their wails of pain and grief carrying across the empty training yard while the city guards and Lireesa’s squadron looked on, fingers tightening around bows and murder in their eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m sorry mother, I should have been out on that patrol, I would have… I could…” she trailed off as her mother lifted her face to stare into her eldest daughters eyes.

 

“There was nothing you could have done my dear Alleria.” Lireesa’s voice was low and raspy from crying, it seemed as if just overnight, deep lines had been etched into her face, she suddenly looked her age. She shuffled slowly down the pathway, allowing Alleria to guide her to the side of the funeral pyre that held the body of her husband and son.

 

The three older sisters had never been very close with their father, he’d been in Dalaran most of their lives- working on neutral ground to start the very first tentative peace talks with the humans in over a millennia. It had been solitary work, work that was often frowned upon by many of the elven population. Like most of the parental figures in their lives, it had always been duty first, family second and the three of them had long since accepted this fact. Still, seeing his body go up in flames Sylvanas couldn’t help but feel sick. How ironic, she thought, that the man who’d wished to broker peace was to die in such a way.

 

As for Lirath. That was different. That was personal.

 

“They have no honor, no shred of decency in their souls, they are but products of greed and hatred and they murdered in cold blood. The only thing we can do is to wipe their barbaric race off the face of Azeroth.” Her mother’s face looked wild and Sylvanas, had she looked past her own fury, might have even seen a madness in the glint of her eyes. Consumed with grief as she was, she only nodded fiercely in response.

 

Vereesa broke the silence and sobbed. Alleria pulled her youngest sister into her arms and held her. “I promise you Little Moon, I will do my best to train, to become the greatest ranger there ever was. I will avenge Dad and Lirath if it’s the last thing I do.”

 

“And I am with you sister. You once warned me and I didn’t listen, well I’m listening now, and never again shall I be so foolish. I swear by the sun’s mercy, I will train until I drop from exhaustion, fight until my dying breath and will not rest until this scourge upon our lands is brought to justice.” It was _Sylvanas_ who had spoken these passionate words; features harsh under the light of the fire. And for the first time, Alleria noticed her sister was now taller than her, the softness of her youth melded away to sharp cheekbones and an even sharper gaze. She’d grown up.

 

And in the years that followed Sylvanas had been true to her word and it was a wonder to watch. She outclassed everyone in her platoon, followed orders without question and people soon began to murmur their praises, whisper stories of the Windrunner Sisters and how they proud their mother must be of their ruthless and effective tactics. Even Vereesa, her gentle soul never being one that was suited for combat, seemed to take to her new life in the academy with ease. Perhaps it was in respect for her little brother, whose childlike innocence had him running around with a training bow, proudly declaring that he would one day serve under Alleria’s command as an elite protector of Quel’Thalas. She felt that in veneration to him, she’d carry out the dream he’d never be able to pursue.

 

Either way Vereesa now stood in the rain and watched the newly promoted Ranger Captain, that was her sister Sylvanas march up and down the ranks. She cut an imposing figure in her armor, bow humming with energy and hood pulled back to show the raw fury on her face. Her steely gaze scanned the new recruits, lingering briefly on her younger sister and softening ever so slightly before her jaw tightened and her voice rose above the clatter of raindrops that fell on heavy steel pauldrons and chest plates.

 

“You are all here because we see you fit to join us in the following campaign of clearing the humans far from our homeland, driving them from our continent and once and for all freeing our lands from their filth.” Sylvanas spat the word and her bow practically hissed in her hand as her gauntlets creaked with the strain of gripping the carefully sculpted wood and metal. “Even now, their armies amass at Lordaeron, digging in their greedy claws to defend land that was never theirs to own. We will not let them! This place was ours for millennia before their kind fled across the stars, they ruined their own planet and we will not let them take ours!”

 

Shouts of agreement rose amongst the ranks and Vereesa felt her chest tighten with two parts pride but one part sorrow for the loss of her once gentle and optimistic sister who, like their father, used to whisper to her about visions of peace when nobody else but her could hear. Everyone had changed; well, maybe not Alleria who’d simply become a more extreme version of herself but her mother for sure. The proud and fierce former Ranger General now stood hunched behind desks and war tables, plotting the humans demise with each cold and calculating step. Vereesa herself had changed for she’d never imagined herself here. She’d wanted to study magic but that was for another lifetime, a lifetime where Father still was alive, spiralling pretty patterns with the flames at his fingertips to amuse her as they’d waited for Mother to get home. A lifetime where Lirath still played the first few shaky notes on his flute and ran around the forest, declaring that he’d be the best soldier Quel’Thalas had ever seen. She would have followed her father in becoming a diplomat but since the dream had been taken from her brother, she felt it was only right to deny herself of her dreams too.

 

“The heat of battle, _real_ battle will be like nothing you have experienced before.” Sylvanas continued to pace, steel capped boots making a hollow wet sound in the drenched mud. “It will be loud, it will be relentless and the enemy will not pause to ponder what is fair, what is honorable and what is right.” Vereesa swallowed and ducked her gaze from that piercing glare. “The only thing that will prevent your body from being a bullet-ridden corpse on the ground is your wits, your reactions and your skill. Their weapons may be dangerous, their machines more advanced, but we have thousands of years of warfare on them and our attunement to the climate, the environment, everything that we are is adapted for the forest. Our senses are keener than theirs; our tactics more effective, we will wipe them out before they are even have time to retaliate.”

 

More cheers rose up and Sylvanas lifted her hand for silence, sobering the mood.

 

“You will see their faces.” She paused and the rain continued its soft patter as everyone fell quiet save for the occasional cough and shuffle as people drank in the sudden change in atmosphere. “Their expressions are so very similar to ours. It will not be like hunting the murlocs or the ogres that you all have done so well in protecting our lands. These are beings of great intelligence, intelligence that matches our own. They will cry out like us, beg like us, they will hold their loved ones and scream in fear as we raid their settlements but you must keep strong for if we show them mercy they will only spit on it in return. They may look like us but within the darkness of their hearts they cannot be more different and you must keep this in mind tomorrow when we invade the village.” Sylvanas paused again to let those words sink in and Vereesa realized with shame that she felt sick to her stomach.

 

“Now go!” Sylvanas ordered, “make camp, rest up. For tomorrow at dawn when the rain clouds clear and the first rays of the sun shine on their sensitive eyes, the shadows of our arrows will be the very last thing that they see.”

* * *

 

How many decades has it been that she’s done this, Sylvanas wonders, as her squadron salutes her in a greeting when she emerges from the tent. It’s more muscle memory than conscious decision now that has her pace down the line of elves that stand to attention, running her gaze over each and every one of them, eyes sharp as she scans for imperfections. Dents in armor, scuffs in the leather, maybe a strap that’s too loose or scratches on a visor; small things that could cause disaster if left untreated. Of course it’s custom instead of utility at this point that has them lined up for inspection. She’s had them under her trained command long enough now that they have been passable every time but, she relents, it’s useful to get them into that headspace, one of military pride and respect for their Captain.

 

“Acceptable. Fall in and follow me.”

 

Her squad is silent but their footsteps echo their obedience as they file in behind her and Sylvanas allows herself a small smile every time. Her elves are a fine lot, glorious at their best and ruthless at their worst, all personally handpicked. She’s proud to have them serve along side her. The ranger squad moves effortlessly amongst the trees, eyes sharp and constantly taking in the changing surroundings, ready to catch anything unusual or out of place. The forest barely reacts to their presence, birds continuing to call, critters still scurrying amongst the branches- their steps are smooth and silent and as natural to their surroundings as the distant rush of the river or the soft hiss of wind through dried leaves.

 

Sylvanas, barely breaking her pace, ducks down to check the fine threads of a trip wire. As she’s suspected it’s broken and further confirmed by the subtle outlines of tracks in the mud, footprints, far larger and wider than the delicate imprint of an elf. They’ve been covered by the leaves but to a veteran ranger such as herself they may as well have left a beacon for all to see.

 

Fresh, only a few hours old. If they move fast it won’t take long for them to catch up.

 

She taps two fingers against her thigh in a signal and her squadron answers her by spreading out. Footsteps lighten as they lengthen their strides and break into a gentle jog.

 

The scent of the forest is so familiar to her that it doesn’t take long for her to notice the subtle tang of arcane that cuts through the muted aromas of decaying leaves and damp moss. It tastes metallic on her tongue, and not unlike the scent of freshly fallen snow, not that Sylvanas has much experience with such a climate but it has been known to occasionally fall in gentle flakes upon the delicate spires of her village.

 

“The mage we have been tracking is with them.” Sylvanas’ voice is as soft as the breeze but her rangers’ delicate ears pick up every word. “They are our first priority target.”

 

Again they say nothing but the quickening of their pace is answer enough and Sylvanas again marvels at how well she’s trained them. The sun arcs overhead and the shadows of the trees lengthen, muted evening light trickles through the gaps in the leaves and had she not been so focused on the mission she would have opted to make camp here if only to admire the beauty of the forest that still surprises her to this day.

 

The Ranger Captain pricks her ears. Voices, human voices, speaking that coarse language of theirs, the crunch of leaves and the snap of twigs further gives them away and Sylvanas almost rolls her eyes.

 

This will be too easy.

 

She makes another series of hand gestures to her rangers and again they respond, dropping to a crouch and heading to the right where the ground is higher. Slowly but surely they close in on the humans until Sylvanas can start to make out their distant shapes through the trees.

 

They are headed to the river, most likely to fill up their water and potentially make camp. She flattens her ears when one whoops yelps obnoxiously as they stumble over a tree root causing the others to laugh in response. Such loud and defenseless creatures, they have no chance alone in the forest, deep within elven domain, _her_ domain.

 

But first the mage.

 

The whole ambush will be moot if the magic user is not taken out first or they could potentially just shield and port their squad away. They would need to be the first to go, a quick arrow to the head, silencing all thought before they could even lift a hand to cast. She would need to identify amongst the group who it was first or it would cost her precious seconds that could jeopardize the entire mission.

 

Sylvanas had already unslung her bow and signaled for her squad to do the same but as they make a move to notch their arrows she holds one palm up, silently commanding them to hold their position as she creeps closer.

 

In situations like these, its time to use something perhaps a little unconventional.

 

Kneeling in the dirt she slowly thumbs at one of the pouches on her hip and with expert care she pulls something cool and plastic out of the pocket. Many would disapprove of her using human technology but in this instance where the rush of the river is loud enough to hide its mechanical whir but the trees too thin to mask the outline of her body if she were to get any closer- its perfect. She whispers a silent apology to any disproving spirit that might be watching and powers up the screen that would control the tiny drone.

 

Ugly and foreign characters flit across the tablet but her knowledge of Common is flawless thanks to it being drilled into her from a young age and she’s able to navigate the panel with ease. Holding the drone out on her palm she guides it into the air and turns her eyes to the screen as she watches it whizz past tree branches, keeping close to the river so as to mask its sound as she draws in closer to the group of humans who have knelt on the riverbank and are eagerly filling up flasks with fresh water and splashing it on their faces. She zooms in on the group and… there, a young female, blonde and unmistakable by the staff strapped across her back and the streaks of mana bleached hair that are just about identifiable in the shaky image. She’s sitting some distance from the main pack and has positioned herself further up the bank where the soil remains dry, pouring over what looks to be a map of some sorts.

 

Target acquired and she’s isolated herself too, it will be a simple task of taking her out. She’s disarmingly young though, Sylvanas almost feels something akin to unease but quickly shrugs it away. She has a mission to complete and there’s no use in getting sentimental. She guides the drone back near to her feet and picks it up, shooting a glare at the lifted eyebrow on of her squad members as she tucks both the tiny drone and the control panel back in her pouch.

 

Sure it’s human tech but when it works, it works, no use in giving up tactical advantage over something as frivolous as pride. It was pride that lead to their downfall in the first place and what lost them many of the first skirmishes that lead into the 1000 year war.

 

She signals her rangers to creep closer knowing it will soon be impossible to remain hidden when the trees have thinned to this point, the element of surprise will only last moments so she mentally prepares herself as to where exactly she needs to go in order to let loose an arrow into the young mage’s skull.

 

She waits a beat, heart in her throat as her rangers poise, still as statues and ready to strike as soon as she moves.

 

Muscles coil as she prepares to spring, lips part as she readies a war cry.

 

Suddenly, too suddenly, noise erupts around her as human voices cry out in alarm and the air is filled with the loud crack of gunshots. Bullets whizz in her direction and she yells at her rangers to get down. They hit the dirt, hands over their heads as hot lead hisses overhead.

 

What. How.

 

Seconds ago they’d been splashing about in the river completely unaware, how could they have possibly noticed her movements? She’d done everything perfectly.

 

“Stay down, crawl back behind cover, any cover but stay down!” Sylvanas cries out, trying to make herself known over the deafening noise. Her rangers don’t need to be told twice, they’re already squirming on their bellies, dragging themselves down into ditches and behind banks, ears flattened against their skulls as they desperately scramble for some form of protection. Sylvanas curses every name under the light and makes to escape herself, she can see the mage now, running in her direction from the clearing and she spits out another panicked curse knowing it wont be long until the human is on top of her.

 

Frost bolts soon join the volley of bullets above them and she risks a break in cover in exchange for scrambling faster, knowing she needs to pull back and collect herself before getting a good shot. She desperately needs to focus; she has no idea how the humans had expected them but she wouldn’t be a Captain if she didn’t know how to react. Leaping quickly to her feet she lets several arrows in their direction in a hope to distract the gunfire away from her squad and in her direction instead. It doesn’t seem to work, the bullets still rain in all directions but at least the frost mage seems to have landed her focus on her, her eyes meet the bright glow of arcane and she quickly notches another arrow, hoping her aim is steady enough to take her out while she’s still sprinting up the hill, dodging the gunfire that whizzes past, some so close to her skin she can feel the displacement of air from the bullets.

 

She did not expect ice to suddenly encase her legs so when it does she hits the ground with a pained grunt. The mage blinks forward and in response she casts her bow aside and reaches for her knife only for the cold muzzle of a pistol press against the exposed skin of her upper chest. The human is so close to her, closer than she’s ever been to one and she can practically feel the heat radiating off her body while her delicate hearing can make out the irregular hammering of a heart. How could she have messed this up so hard? She welcomed death at this point doubting how she could bare to live with herself knowing she’d failed so dismally without even understanding _why._

The human’s gaze was wild, fearful even, as though she too was surprised to be in such intimate proximity with an elf. Sylvanas watches her gaze search her own before a gun is lifted to her face and she’s staring down the dark tunnel of the barrel. Sylvanas felt embarrassed that her last thoughts weren’t of Vereesa, or her mother or even Alleria, ass that she was, or of any of those she had held near and dear to her. Instead the last thought that crossed her mind was just how blue those eyes were that bore into hers.

 

The gun fires.

 

Past her, the sound ringing against a sensitive ear.

 

Sylvanas gasps at the shockwave, the hearing on her right side instantly going dead, replaced with a dull ring and muting the sounds around her.

 

The mage was firing in panic at something _behind her._

Sylvanas turns and for a second time she knows she’s going to die.

 

Something massive was rampaging through the trees, snapping branches as if they were toothpicks. It was humanoid in shape but that was as far as the resemblance went, the legs bent in an unusual way, like that of a hawkstrider, the torso bulged with unnatural muscles, and from its head hung two massive horns. Its mouth was open in an abnormally wide grin, long fangs dripping with saliva and leathery wings unfurling from its back, tapering off into hooked claws at the ends.

 

Both human and elf scream before the world around them is engulfed with green flames.


	2. War Crimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the focus will be on our leading ladies, the Windrunner sisterly interactions are just too fun to write and will be featuring heavily throughout this story. Enjoy...

Her vision swam in and out of focus, Sylvanas staggered but she felt so dizzy and sick that she couldn’t make it three steps before she collapsed back into the dirt. Something hurt. She gingerly felt along her side and fingertips came away wet with blood.

 

Trying again she managed to get to her knees, her head already spun so violently that she didn’t risk getting to her feet and opted instead to attempt to take in her surroundings. Again senses blurred and cleared and she shook her head violently as she started to make out the blackened forms of bodies prone in the dirt.

 

“No.” She gasped. More bodies, some human but most with the slender build and tapering ears of an elf. “No, please no.”

 

Loralen, Cyndia, Clea, Vorel…she could only make them out from the various pendants and earrings, everything else was burned beyond recognition. Kalira had worn the dual obsidian on her left ear hadn’t she… oh she’d been so young…

 

Sylvanas whimpered. A raw broken sound that dissolved into a series of coughs. The scent was horrific, burnt flesh and the reek of something she couldn’t identify. Ammonia? Ozone? It was an assault on her nostrils either way.

 

A noise to her left. The human mage, the one who’d held her when they’d both screamed together as that… _thing_ had bore down on them. She seemed to be scanning her own people sporting an utterly ruined expression that mirrored Sylvanas’s own emotions. She tilted her head toward the elf and an unreadable look flickered across her face before she backed away, breaking into an unsteady jog. The air shimmered and warped around her body as she prepared to teleport.

 

Sylvanas made to grab her bow but slumped back in defeat, she didn’t know why but the grief over her dead comrades made her feel sick to her stomach at the thought of killing any more today.

 

So instead she curled into the blackened dirt and cried in confusion and pain, her mind reaching out but failing to grasp at the horrors of the situation that had befallen her faithful squad. She didn’t even care to wonder why her clothes were wet and a residue of frost on her hair and eyebrows.

 

* * *

 

“So for the official records of this court let me make this clear, a winged and horned creature attacked both you and the humans?”

 

“No, not just one, there were multiple beings. I only got close enough to one to be able to make out its features.”

 

Sylvanas hated the council hall with a passion; it embodied everything about elven culture that she disliked. The place was decadent beyond measure; pillars lined the circular room propping up a dome that filtered natural light through red and orange tinged glass, bathing the place in an imitation of perpetual sunset. Sheer curtains hung from the ceiling in grand swathes of purple fabric and from the center of the room, cool marble tiles lined the floor, spiraling outwards and upwards so that where the defendant stood, all they could see was hundreds of chairs surrounding them in incrementing tiers so that the judge and jury could peer down at them with proud faces and disapproving eyes. Directly ahead of her sat a male elf, dressed in what might have been simple robes were it not for the subtle gold trim at his collar and sleeves. His ears were devoid of any jewelry but several gaudy rings, studded with expensive jewels sat upon his slender fingers which were clasped together as he leaned on his forearms and peered over at her with narrowed eyes. Aethas Sunreaver might have believed he fooled people into thinking he lived the simplistic scholarly life that was expected of someone born with the gift of magic but they all knew he was as prideful and self indulgent as the rest of the stuffy council that ruled Quel’Thalas with an iron fist.

 

“We have scanned the battlefield numerous times, scryed the entire area and have placed several tracking wards where you suggested yet there are no prints, no claw marks, no remnants to suggest what you have seen.”

 

“Are you calling me a liar Archmage?” Sylvanas spat out and the elf in question raised his hands in surrender.

 

“I’m not accusing you of lying, just stating that you might be confused _Ranger Captain_.” Sylvanas winced, hating how the tips of her ears heated up in both embarrassment and rage. The way he addressed her title sounded like an insult.

 

After all, what kind of Captain came out of a battle relatively unscathed while the rest of her squad burned. Nobody had said it outright, yet, but she could hear it in his accusatory tone, feel the heat of the stare from Alleria at her back and the way Vereesa ducked her ears and refused to hold her gaze. Nobody believed her, they thought her to be a coward. To the void with them, they had no way of knowing what she’d seen; if they did they wouldn’t be holding her in a trial right now, questioning her mental stability as to whether she was in the right frame of mind to remain Captain.

 

“Sometimes when people see technology they are unfamiliar with, they mistake it for dark magic or it manifests itself as something else, like a mythical beast or a god.”

 

“I know what I saw!” Sylvanas all but snarled, hating how the council murmured amongst themselves, faces etched with worry not for what she claimed but for _her._

Fools. The lot of them.

 

“I am not denying you are convinced what you saw was real but have you stopped to consider it might have been something else? Human tech you never had exposure to before? The remnants of metal and plastic we found in the ashes suggests it the explosion from a bomb, it’s most likely the humans threw it and got a bigger detonation than they bargained for.”

 

“There was an explosion, but it didn’t come from the humans we were tracking.” Sylvanas felt a migraine forming behind her eyes. They were going around in circles again.

 

“Perhaps there was another group you didn’t take into account?”

 

“I surveyed the entire perimeter of that forest before we closed in on the humans, they were definitely the only group in the vicinity.”

 

“Yet had these ‘horned beasts’ existed you would have missed them as well?”

 

“We couldn’t have hoped to have found them, they appeared with no warning.”

 

“Teleported in?”

 

“No, I couldn’t sense any arcane, it was almost like they ripped through the very fabric of the air.”

 

“Sylvanas!” Alleria cried ears flattened and jaw trembling with what looked like grief as well as rage. “Have you truly gone insane?”

 

The Archmage ignored the outburst and butted in before Sylvanas could retaliate. “There was a residue of arcane in the air from _someone_ teleporting? Are you suggesting that we are incorrect with our calculations?”

 

“No…”

 

“So there was someone who did teleport to your location?”

 

“Well not exactly but…”

 

“Well clearly _something_ was warped in, you must have sprung a trap.”

 

“No I would never have lead my people into an ambush if it had been the slightest bit suspicious.”

 

“And yet they are dead.”

 

Sylvanas grit her teeth, fighting back a growl. “If you let me finish, nothing was teleported _in_ , just out.”

 

“Ah so there _was_ arcane travel involved.”

 

“Yes! I never denied that, but it wasn’t during the attack” Sylvanas gripped the chair as images flashed through her brain. The human mage blinking in front of her, the crack of the gun, the acrid odor of energies she’d never sensed before, the horrible winged beast, it’s dark silhouette stark against the raging green flames-

 

“Sylvanas!” She blinked up in confusion, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

 

“I am sorry Archmage, what did you say?” He pursed his lips, clearly frustrated at her lack of focus.

 

“Was the teleportation before or after the attack.”

 

“It was after.” A surprised murmur rang out amongst the council.

 

“So there were survivors?”

 

“Yes, one survivor.”

 

“And they got away?”

 

Sylvanas looked down at her feet. “Yes, I was unable to get a clean shot before she escaped.”

 

“You mean to say you missed?” Even the usually dry tones of the Archmage seemed unsure as he asked the question.

 

The Ranger Captain glanced warily around the room, refusing to look into Alleria’s eyes.

 

“Yes.”

 

More surprised mutters, more grumbles of suspicion. Sylvanas Windrunner did not miss.

 

“Enough of this, can’t you see she’s in pain? She’s just lost her entire squad and all you can do is interrogate her!” Vereesa’s voice rang out over the crowd. Sylvanas would have smiled gratefully at her younger sister in that moment had it not been for the pity in her eyes.

 

“What say you Ranger General?” The Archmage rose from his seat, flattening his palms against his desk as he peered at Alleria from across the hall with a scrutinizing gaze. “You have been very quiet on this, perhaps now would be the time to give your verdict as General of the Elite Ranger Regiment?”

 

Alleria stood, mimicking his posture, eyes glowing a cold silver as she allowed her gaze to drift over to her sister, holding her desperate gaze for a while longer before letting out a heavy sigh and leaning back.

 

“I suggest we suspend the title of Ranger Captain, at least, until we get to the bottom of this and can confirm that she is of a fit state to lead.”

 

“You cannot be serious!” Sylvanas growled, hating how her voice sounded outraged with betrayal. “Sister, will you not believe me?”

 

The Archmage ignored her, eyes still fixed on Alleria as though figuring out her true intentions before nodding and gesturing in her direction. “I believe the General has made a fair decision, we will end this trial and have Capt… _Lady_ Windrunner escorted back to her home.”

 

“This is an disgrace!” Sylvanas hissed, shrugging off the two guards who gingerly approached her, terrified of what she may do. Captain or not, she still had decades of elite ranger training at her back and they were not in the mood to test it. “Unhand me, I will escort myself.”

 

Nobody, not even Alleria was brave enough to object.

 

* * *

 

 

“Sylvanas please it’s been months. I… I miss you.”

 

The elf in question scoffed and continued to carve away thin strips of wood, not bothering to look up. Alleria sighed, peeling off her gloves and dropping them to the table with a loud slap.

 

“Is this going to be your life now? Stringing bows you will never use and fletching arrows that will never be fired.”

 

The middle sister looked up, a sickly sweet smile on her face. “There we have it ladies and gentlemen, Alleria Windrunner showing compassion for the duration of lets say…” she made a dramatic gesture of checking the clock on the mantelpiece “… well would you look at that, ten whole seconds! That’s got to be a new record.”

 

“Will you quiet your sarcasm for one moment and talk to me?”

 

“About what? Neither of us have anything to say that has not already been said, betrayer.”

 

The eldest Windrunner opened her mouth to bite back a retort but she closed her eyes and took a couple of steady breaths to calm herself, there was no use in screaming at Sylvanas, not if she was to get through to her.

 

“I understand now… I think… and I want to help.” Alleria knelt down and grasped at her sister’s hands, silver eyes locking with silver eyes. “I know how you feel.”

 

“So you believe me? You accept what I saw as the truth?” Sylvanas leant forward, gaze never wavering from the Ranger General’s. Alleria closed her eyes, ears drooping in defeat as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to say.

 

“Survivors guilt can do strange things to people, I felt that way when my dear Erriel was shot dead by SI:7 forces in the battle for Pyrewood. He took a bullet through the head that was meant for me and in the fog of guilt and grief my mind came up with all sorts of excuses. How was I to know the rifle had such a long range, how was I to expect they had placed trackers on our ships, that they had eyes on us this entire campaign, just waiting for the moment to strike.” Alleria grit her teeth as the memories came back unbidden but she swallowed once and continued on.

 

“In that moment I couldn’t explain the situation, I’d been meticulous in my planning, so sure of myself that when he died I could only come up with excuses. That the humans had obtained outside help, that perhaps it was a betrayal from within.” Alleria blinked away tears while continuing to hold Sylvanas’s hands in hers, thumbs absently stroking over her knuckles. “I was willing accuse my own squad of treachery before I was prepared to admit that it was my failure as a General that caused my second in command to die.” The General shuffled closer, tears now freely falling as she lifted a hand to brush the wayward strands from disgraced Captain’s face. “It’s okay Sylvanas, I understand, it wasn’t your fault… but that’s what comes with the burden of our positions, the mistakes we make have consequences and we must learn to accept that responsibility.”

 

Sylvanas grew furious; she snatched her hand away, stood up, and promptly slapped Alleria across the face.

 

“You think I don’t blame myself? You think that I’m making this up because I can’t accept that my actions lead to their deaths? Of course its my fault!” She was trembling now, arrows long forgotten as they clattered off her lap and onto the floor. “Had I not been so insistent on tracking that… _insufferable_ human mage then none of this would have happened. We’d still be on patrol at the southern borders and my squad would be alive.” Sylvanas broke off, holding a trembling hand across her mouth while Alleria stared up at her in both anger and shock, fingertips flying to where her sister had stuck her. “Don’t you dare, don’t you _dare_ accuse me of lying to cover my own ass because I fully accept my responsibility. They died because of me but what I saw was the truth and _nobody_ can take that away!”

 

“Sylvanas…”

 

“Get out!”

 

Alleria paused, fingertips still pressed against the red handprint on her jaw.

 

“Get out now!”

 

Alleria finally relented and made for the door but not before whirling around angrily, the muscles in her forearm flexing as she gripped the handle with all her strength.

 

“You can sit here holed up in your room all you want but it won’t change anything! Talk to me when you’re done growing up and learn that duty doesn’t wait for you finish sulking.” The door slammed, rattling in its frame as her older sister stalked out.

 

Once again Sylvanas was alone. She let out a deep sigh and absently rubbed along the side of one of her ears, the feather pendant that Alleria had gifted her still dangled from the upper lobe and she felt guilt bloom in her chest at how she’d just struck out at her own sister.

 

But she’d betrayed her, believed the word of law over her own flesh and blood. Alleria had said those things and meant them and that stung Sylvanas worse than any physical injury her sister could have given in return.

 

_Duty doesn’t wait for you to finish sulking._

She was right of course, she would have to go back; but how could she possibly complete her duty now, what place among the ranks did she even deserve anymore. They definitely wouldn’t put her in charge of a squad, neither would they place her under any valid leadership as she’d have years of experience over most of them. Perhaps they would put her under the charge of Vereesa… no, no that would be a terrible idea- she’d subvert _Little Moon_ before the day would be out.

 

Sylvanas sighed with the weight of the world on her shoulders and slumped forward, elbows on her knees and glaring at the tiles of the floor as though it would provide her with some form of answer.

 

What even was duty anymore- protection of her people? That was the number one priority. Priority two; the protection of her squad… well that was already a failure.

 

So it was back to priority one.

 

Whatever she’d seen could be a massive threat to the citizens of Silvermoon and Quel’Thalas. So by doing nothing about it she was forsaking her duty.

 

And sulking.

 

She had to do something.

 

Or… find _someone._

 

Sylvanas felt her heart lurch in her chest.

 

Of course.

 

It was crazy, unconventional; the very idea, if mentioned out loud, would probably lock her up for life.

 

But the human was still alive, and she’d seen everything. Sylvanas just had to catch her, alive, and have her stand trial in Silvermoon. Maybe then with the confirmation of the enemy, a mage at that, they might just begin to believe her.

 

Sylvanas leapt to her feet, pulling off the soft silk robes she’d been swaddled in and throwing on the darkest and most functional clothing she could find. Quick fingers tied up laces, fastened buckles and tightened leather straps and she pulled a thick warm cloak over her head, threading the ears through the slits and fastening it tightly around her shoulders. She briefly glanced at the heavy silver clasp that held the cloak in place, and considered swapping it for something less conspicuous than the Windrunner crest. She shrugged, if the human had seen her so close last time they met, it was already pretty obvious from the armor she wore that day.

 

Sylvanas lifted the bow carefully from its stand, feeling comforted by its familiar weight as the magic imbued in the wood and metal almost purred in response to her touch, greeting her like an old friend as she slung it across her back. She picked up the freshly fletched arrows and admired how painstakingly sharp the tips were- perhaps she’d already been subconsciously preparing for this day the whole time.

 

She was going for a hunt and this time she planned to catch herself a mage.

 

* * *

 

 

Jaina had always been a stoic child. She wasn’t one to fuss or cry, even as a baby. If she ever fell and scraped her knees, she merely dusted herself off with a brave sniffle and carried on as normal, propping up a bike or climbing back on an unruly horse. She didn’t whimper as a young teen when news of Father and Derek reached the shores of Boralus, that their ship had taken heavy damage from explosions planted by elven hippogryph riders and the entire crew claimed by the sea. She’d merely clung close to her mother, ducked under one arm and pressed against her side as her jaw tightened and her eyes burned with angry determination.

 

Jaina didn’t beg, Jaina didn’t weep. But the arrow embedded in her calf fucking hurt and it was taking everything within her not to wail with pain.

 

Foolish girl. She’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book: allowed herself to be directed along a path. It wasn’t obvious in the slightest, just the gentle clearing of roots, the slight pruning of thick thorny vines that hung down from towering tree branches, the sprinkle of woodchips and dried leaves in mud to firm the ground below and foolishly her body had subconsciously picked the easiest route, a route that directed her right into a trap.

 

The pain was dizzying, she’d went down so quickly as barbed metal severed muscle and tendon. Her leg felt hot, the pulsating of her blood sending waves of pain throughout her body.

 

She wondered how long it would be before the poison that each elven arrow was dipped in would begin to spread through her body, decaying her nerves and leaving her a paralyzed frothing mess, unable to move as her lungs slowly gave out, choking her from within. She’d tried to cast, tried to wrap the wound in ice to not only staunch the bleeding but slow the spread of infection but the elf had been too quick, leaping down from her perch with the grace of a stag and kicking her staff away from her, far out of reach, until it lay at the bottom of the bank, partially buried under the decaying leaves.

 

“If you’re going to kill me, then do it!” Jaina snapped, her Thalassian stilted from panic and disuse.

 

If the elf seemed surprised, she did not show it, but whether it was the human talking in her language or the shock of actually catching the mage had worn off she started barking at her in her native language, a triumphant yet feral expression on her face.

 

“Do you have any idea how long it has taken for me to track you down? I picked up your trail near Alterac but you were too close to Lordaeron City, and there you stayed, tantalizingly out of my reach behind the walls and patrols of your people. I nearly got taken out by a fucking sniper up in your pathetic guard towers before I was able to make my escape back into the forest.” Jaina shifted but the elf only grinned wider and pinned her arm above her head, leaning closer and glaring into her eyes. “But you just had to come back here didn’t you? What is it about this place that draws you so, or like all humans must you track your filth across every corner of this cont...”

 

“Slow down.”

 

The elf paused, ears pinning back in alarm as the human ventured to command her.

 

“You dar-”

 

“Look, you clearly need information from me or I’d be dead.” The human gestured to her own body with her eyes, since the rest of her was so effectively immobilized. “If you want me to answer your questions you need to slow down so I can understand, my Thalassian isn’t perfect but I can help you much easier if you were to talk to me a little more clearly.”

 

Jaina wasn’t sure where this false bravado was coming from but in that moment she’d been so certain to die she almost felt like she was riding on borrowed time.

 

The elf pondered, a stormy expression on her face and Jaina wondered if she was deciding whether or not to kill her. Instead she smiled a little and pulled away, hand sliding down from the secured hold against her chest to her calf and giving a little squeeze.

 

This time Jaina did cry out, the pain shot up her leg like electricity, molten flames licked at her sensitive nerve endings and had her wrists not been restrained she would have instantly gone to clutch at the wound.

 

“You fuck!” Jaina switched to Common, throwing out a few more colorful phrases before gathering herself and glaring at the elf with murder in her eyes.

 

“Maybe instead of me speaking slower, you listen better. I have no care for your human language.”

 

Jaina groaned and turned her face into the dirt, spitting out strings of saliva as she struggled to clear her throat. “What do you want,” she moaned weakly.

 

The elf pushed off from her, leaping to her feet in one fluid motion and glaring down at her quarry, arms behind her back and a disgusted look on her face as she began to pace.

 

“As of five months ago you were in the forests of Darrowshire, not so far from where we are now.”

 

Jaina fell silent, mind going blank in surprise. Her hunter’s face darkened in frustration and she made to nudge at her injured leg again with a heavy boot.

 

“Yes!” She blurted out, feebly making an effort to scramble away but the challenging glare she got for her efforts caused her to instantly go still. “Yes I was there.”

 

“What did you see when you were there?”

 

“I saw… it was you! I saw you.” The elf’s shadow fell over her as she stepped closer.

 

“What else did you see.”

 

The mage paused, “An explosion,” she replied slowly. The elf made a frustrated noise and crouched in front of her, jaw clenched and eyes wild.

 

“What. Else.”

 

Jaina was silent, the images she’d so desperately blocked from her mind now flooding back in full force. If she wasn’t so stricken with panic she might have even caught the pleading look in her captors face as she leant over the human waiting for her next words.

 

“I don’t know what I saw… something big, something terrible. It had… wings...horns…”

 

“Yes!” The feral looking elf crowed and grasped at her shoulders. For a brief, terrifying second Jaina thought she was going to get hugged. “I was RIGHT! By the light of the sun I’m not crazy!”

 

That was…debatable. She looked unhinged, but Jaina valued her life and opted to keep her mouth shut.

 

“You were with a group?”

 

“Yes, a scouting party.”

 

“Military I presume?” The elf’s ears were still pinned back; her fangs on full display but in those silvery glowing eyes, Jaina could see a spark of what looked like… hope.

 

“No, not all of us, just a few for protection reasons. We were researching.”

 

“Researching what.” The elf’s voice lowered menacingly.

 

“I don’t feel inclined to share that infor…no please don’t do that… okay, _okay_ we were tracking activity, whats the word you elves use, when there's movement in the ground..." Jaina panicked, not liking the way the ranger was pointedly eyeing her injury with a cruel satisfaction in her eyes.

 

"You mean earthquakes, seismic activity?" 

 

"Yes!" Jaina gasped, relieved. "We were tracking seismic activity." 

 

The elf looked as though she was going to ask more before she fell silent with a completive look on her face. She opened and closed her mouth several times before she shook her head as though grounding herself and grasped hold of Jaina’s wrist.

 

“As tempted as I am to ask you more, I have more pressing matters than satisfying my curiosity, I will need to have you report to the council of what you’ve seen and my work here is done.”

 

“The council?” Jaina gasped, and her captor shot her a grim smile.

 

“Yes, you will be able to provide them with the witness account I need, my name is cleared and we can actually get to work on solving this new threat. _We_ meaning the elven task force, you will most likely be imprisoned… or dispatched who knows what they do these days.” The elf shrugged impartially seemingly more pissed off than anything else.

 

“You can’t send me to the elven council!” Jaina was terrified, more so than when the elf had practically pounced on her and yelled in her face.

 

“And why not? You are my captive, a dead woman either way; be it by my arrow or through the council’s hand it doesn’t matter where I take you. No use in struggling.”

 

“Oh and you think by sending me there it’s going to just make it all okay?” Jaina was equal parts angry and scared, the pain and reality of her situation hitting her all at once.

 

“Well, yes.” The elf looked suddenly unsure and Jaina struck at that opportunity like a snake.

 

“What if after questioning me they still don’t believe the story. What are you going to do then? As far as they are concerned I’m just some poor human you’ve coerced to speak your words.” Jaina dropped her voice into a helpless whimper, “I don’t know my liege, she’s gone mad! She forced me to speak these things I just… I want to go home!”

 

The glare that was directed her ways was nothing short of _murderous._

 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

 

Jackpot. Her suspicions had been correct.

 

“And why not?” Jaina mimicked the elf’s smug tone from earlier on and she half expected another arrow to be released into her from the downright feral snarl in response. She didn’t know where the goading had come from but she was riding high on adrenalin and the realization of having nothing to lose was making her bolder than ever before. “Like you said, I’m dead either way so why should I co-operate with you.”

 

“I could easily sway that decision _human._ You think I’m not capable of doing things that would make you wish for the mercy of execution- _”_ the words that dripped from those lips were practically poison as the elf angrily tightened her hold on the mage’s wrist to the point of pain but Jaina didn’t back down.

 

“I’m the only one left,” the mage blurted out. 

 

Her captive paused, taken aback by the sound of heartbreak in her voice. “What do you mean?”

 

Jaina gasped in pain as the elf drew away, knocking her leg unintentionally and the hunter opened her mouth as if to apologize before seeming to come to her senses and frowning uneasily. The mage cautiously sat up, leaning on shaky arms and watched her warily as if at any moment she might snap and push her back down into the dirt again. She didn’t and Jaina continued with her hastily thrown together explanation.

 

“My team wasn’t military in the slightest, we had no interest in scouting your lands. We were entirely focused on searching for evidence, attempting to track and bait whatever… _that_ was and it backfired on us in the worst way possible.”

 

The elf stiffened, eyes widening before they took a cruel gleam to them as her hand automatically flew to the handle of her knife. “You mean to say you’ve caused all this!”

 

“No! We…we had no idea!” Jaina backtracked, her Thalassian failing her for a moment in her panic. “We had an...an artifact and some tenuous knowledge at best, we were tracking earth movement, tremors in the ground, and the focus was near here. We weren’t expecting any of your patrols to be this far out, I’d have never used magic if we’d known you’d set up wards in the area.”

 

“But it was your meddling that cost me my squad!” the elf roared and Jaina shrank back from her furious gaze but to her surprise anger, rather than fear, bubbled to the surface in response.

 

“Yes,  _our_ actions. You had no right to be a part of them! We were miles from your borders, we weren’t showing any form of hostilities towards your land or your people and you _still_ hunted us down anyway! Maybe if you’d left us alone instead of going on some self-indulgent anti-human crusade your team might still be alive.”

 

“How _dare_ you! Insolent human, I’ll put another arrow in your leg and drag you by it back to Quel’Thalas just for saying that! It was your accursed magic that drew us out there, you may as well have been a homing beacon.”

 

Jaina winced. That stung. Rhonin had warned her not to go for that reason and selfishly she’d still tagged along, unable to bear to not be apart from the research she’d been so dedicated in the past few years. In hindsight she’d acted like a wayward child, throwing spells here and there without thinking what it could mean.

 

_Foolish girl, using your magic near the territory of arcane-sensitive beings._

The elf smirked and Jaina realized she’d been wearing her thoughts on her face, like the stupid open book that she was. Her fury grew, thoughts bordering on madness. She narrowed her eyes and then allowed her smirk to match, watching with some satisfaction as the elf frowned slightly in confusion at the sudden change in expression.

 

“Oh you mean this?” She snapped her fingers and a small spark of arcane shot from her fingers. Predictably the elf stiffened, ears pricking in response to the magic that hummed in close proximity before she seemed to collect herself and pinned them back with an embarrassed scowl on her face. Jaina’s smirk widened. “Ohh you like that don’t you, has it been a while since you’ve got your fix?”

 

“Shut the fuck up” the elf snarled in Common, voice dangerously low and Jaina, worryingly dismissive of her own safety, barked out a laugh, “I knew it, I knew you could speak Common” she gloated, switching to the language in question.

 

“Only because I tire of you butchering it with that hideous accent of yours.”

 

“What can I say, I’ve not exactly had much chance to practice with a native” Jaina spat dryly before a sharp pain and a weary heaviness rushed through her body as if somebody had replaced the blood in her veins with hot lead. Raw arcane hurt.

 

“Not so easy without your staff is it.” The elf taunted, happier now she seemed to have the upper hand again. Jaina sucked a shaky breath through her teeth and closed her eyes, she was right of course, channeling magic without a conduit was foolish at best and suicidal at worst.

 

“I take it the arrow you shot me with hasn’t been dipped in poison or I’d be dead by now.” Jaina stated calmly, though she felt anything but. Her adrenalin was beginning to wear off and the rupture of skin and muscle from the projectile sticking from her leg throbbed agonizingly, making her feel dizzy and ill.

 

The elf flicked an ear irritably. “I abolished the use of toxin laced arrows nearly one hundred and sixty years ago. I am offended you would accuse me of such a thing.”

 

“Well excuse me for throwing around such wild accusations, didn’t know it was a touchy subject.” Jaina shifted to a more comfortable position and winced when the movement again jostled her leg.

 

“The use of neurotoxic chemicals is considered a war crime amongst my people, not that your species would know anything about such decency.”

 

“What’s that… supposed to mean… oh god it hurts!” Jaina slumped forward, panting slightly as she fought back the sudden nausea.

 

The elf shot her a frustrated look, pausing as if unsure of what to do before her expression hardened, mouth pressing into a thin line as she glared frostily at the struggling human.

 

“I’ll send for re-enforcements, they’ll put you on a horse and lead you back to Silvermoon, if you’re lucky they may even give you something for the pain, not that you deserve it.” The hunter stepped around her, searching around the leaves for the pack Jaina had dropped right before she’d been pierced through the leg. “You better have a flare gun in here or I’m going to be most displeased, I am _not_ carrying you back to the nearest way station.”

 

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you fucking shot me!”

 

“Oh I knew what I was getting into, just decided that the satisfaction of releasing my arrow into you was worth it.”

 

“You sadistic bit-” The two of them paused as a horn rang out, echoing eerily amongst the trees. It was far away but the still morning air carried the noise so that even the human could hear it in all its haunting clarity.

 

“I don’t recognize that tone, is that one of yours?” The elf questioned, muscles tensed as she dropped to a crouch, looking ready to flee.

 

“No but we’ve… _I’ve_ heard it before. It has something to do with what we saw, every time we detect any seismic movement or activity, we hear that horn in the general vicinity but by the time we get there, nothing. Well, at least until that fateful day where I met you. I…” Jaina swallowed, motioning toward the pack that the elf still had dangled from her forearm, “I have a book, research of everything we’ve discovered and documented but it’s been two years now and barely anything new to…”

 

“So you have documented evidence?” The elf stared down at her, brightening. “Perfect, I can take this with me too.”

 

“I won’t let you.” Jaina snapped, anger flaring at the confident decisiveness of the woman who had no idea what she was meddling with.

 

“Oh really? And why not? You’re disarmed and harmless, if I leave you, you die out here. Your best bet at survival is if you co-operate with me and even then that’s pretty slim. I ask you again, why fight it?”

 

“Because it’s not about my survival!” Jaina snapped. “It’s about this evidence falling into the wrong hands! We…” she paused as if ashamed, “our nation has a sickness in it, corrupt and rotten to the core and it’s only recently that we are beginning to see just how much. This research wasn’t started by me or any of my former crew, this was stemmed from snippets of information left in secret for us to find, written by people who were silenced before they could go public with their information.” She paused to collect her thoughts and mercifully the elf let her, waiting patiently as she pieced together her next few sentences.

 

“We soon realized that just by uttering these discoveries, even rumoring of such a threat would bring certain death so we…we… god I can’t believe I’m even telling this to an _elf_ but… but we started a research lab in the north, away from both the human and elven kingdoms and under the guise of weapons research and testing. We were secret enough for our government to work to keep it hidden from you and just about useful and uninteresting enough for them not to bother us in our work, leaving us alone to do the real research that we came here for.”

 

The elf momentarily looked worried, then her features shifted to one of distain and she scoffed. “Like I’m going to believe such a tale, you’re just stalling and I’m not having any more of it.”

 

“Well you must!” Jaina begged, “I’m not giving you a choice because, and you’re not going to like this, but I can bet my staff that whatever this threat is, they’ve infiltrated your council as well.”

 

“You dare!” The elf whirled around to spit out an outraged retort before the words seemed to die in her mouth.

 

“They didn’t believe you did they,” Jaina filled in the blanks, “they called you out as a liar and deranged, not fit to be of your position anymore. That's why you went looking for me, wasn't it.”

 

“How could you possibly know what happened!”

 

“Because I’ve seen it before!” Jaina roared. She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose and dropping her face into her hands. “I’ve seen it before because it happened to my best friend, Kinndy. She presented her evidence to the board and they laughed in her face, told her she had lost her mind, stripped her of her academic titles and sent her home.” Jaina’s expression took on a darker tone, “they told us it was an accident, that in a fit of rage she set her computer and papers aflame and the fire spread out of control, taking her with it. Of course only we know the truth, they killed her and destroyed her evidence, she knew too much. They’ll kill you too, you know. You are lucky to have left when you did and I hope to any higher entity that’s listening that you weren’t followed, for both our sakes.”

 

The words hung between them, elf and human regarded each other and the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife in that moment before the elf flattened her ears and glared at the ground.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“I said fine! I won’t take you to Silvermoon,” Jaina gasped, hope blossoming despite the sucking pain of the wound in her leg as the elf plucked the journal from inside and thrust the pack in her direction. “But on one condition.”

 

“Yes, I’ll accept anything at this point if you keep what we’ve discovered from them.” Jaina slurred over her words as she began hastily tying the straps back up to her pack, not wanting anything else to be confiscated by her attacker.

 

“You will let me aid you in your research, you will explain everything you have learned to me and every move and decision you make will be overseen by me. You are lucky that I might just believe your story but if I even catch the slightest wind of deceit then you will have wished for that arrow to have been through your eyes instead.”

 

Jaina paused.

 

Working with the enemy, had it really come to this? Then again, she watched as the elf thumbed through the pages of her research, eyes inquisitive and sharp as she took in the details of her diagrams and drawings, perhaps this could work.

 

Her hunter seemed switched on enough, she probably was an expert in field survival and definitely an effective warrior if she’d managed to take her down so quickly without even a chance to defend herself. Doing such dangerous work alone had already taken its toll, never able to relax, unable to share the burden as she constantly had one eye over her shoulder, checking to see if anyone had noticed her, been aware of her presence in places that she shouldn’t have been. She needed a partner, even if said partner was a rather feral looking woman who’s species had been at war with her long before even her great-grandfather had been born but Jaina had never been one to stick to the rules anyway.

 

“Deal.” She decided, sticking out her hand and the elf looked at her surprised before reaching for it with her own… and clasping her forearm instead. Jaina had gone for the handshake while the ranger seemed to have other ideas of how this went, resulting in an awkward bumping of fingers and gripping of wrists before both self-consciously stepped back. Jaina blushed heavily.

 

“We can uh, we can work on that. I’m Jaina by the way, seems only fair I should give myself a proper introduction since the screaming match is out the way. What about you?”

 

The elf deliberated for a moment before seeming to answer a silent question in her head and flicking her ear dismissively in what Jaina guessed was an elven form of a shrug.

 

“Sylvanas.”

 

That was… a surprisingly pretty name. Jaina toyed with it in her mind, enjoying the way it seemed to flow.

 

“Well Sylvanas, I hate to already be requesting a favor from my new research partner so soon but I’m currently about to pass out from the pain of the arrow you so graciously shot me with and could really do with some form of painkiller and treatment, care to help me out?”

 

The elf looked startled for a moment before seeming to come to her senses and reluctantly shrugging off her own pack so that it hit the ground with a heavy thump. “Of course…Jaina.”


End file.
